Hannah comes to Canada

Five days...two provinces, three major cities, a little league baseball game, an historical tour, lots of meals out, discovering a new house, tolerating a neurotic dog and keeping an aunt, uncle, two cousins and a mom and dad on their toes...that was our wonderful visit with our beautiful niece Hannah. And of course her parents. We like them too. It was awesome to watch my baby brother, whose diapers I once changed, be a dad. We are so proud of John and Stephanie. While their 16 months with sweet Hannah has not been typical and they have faced hurdles that would make many parents crash and burn, they have taken Hannah's difficulties, focused on her abilities, (which there are MANY) and have become the best parents a child could ever ask for.

We love it when we have visitors. It's a great chance to see the place we live through new eyes. And this was a particular monumental visit since Hannah was traveling to Canada for the first time. For us it was enlightening to watch a 16-month old and her parents....how time flies. Hannah has some respiratory issues so we were quickly taken back to our days with Louis and nebulizer treatments every few hours. It's good for us to see how far Louis has come. And for Louis it was a great time to hang out with his Uncle John who happens to be one of his favorite people. He was thrilled to have his uncle at his baseball games and took some pointers from John, while Hannah was entertained and watched with enthusiasm.

We spent a day in Ottawa at Louis' baseball game and walking around the city. I love this city. It's very regal and a mix of old and new. Danielle joined us for the day.

A quick night at home was followed by a road trip to Quebec City. As many of said, this is the closest to a European feeling and we have to remind ourselves we are in North America. We had a great time walking the city, eating, embracing ourselves in history for a tour (Louis got to play hooky, Danielle had to stay behind for school). It was a wonderful time. Hannah was a rockstar! John was most entertained by the rude, aggressive drivers we experienced while trying to leave the city at rush hour. He opened is window yelling "douche bag" to one driver. I had to laugh when I told him that there are some things that just don't translate and in French, douche means shower, so he just called that dude a shower bag.

Our last day we spent quickly touring Montreal...with drives to the schools to show Uncle John and Aunt Stephanie where Louis and Danielle get their Quebec education. While in Montreal, John was quite patient when an old French guy gave him hell for not speaking french when he asked John a question and he responded with "no hablo fran-say."

We had some time at home and an adult dinner out which was appropriately capped off with Duke getting sprayed by a skunk at 10 pm. For John and Kish, it was just like old times in Arizona.

We had an amazing five days and can't wait to see the Colorado Schmitz family again!

the Daily Duke 8.25.11

Duke would like to thank the Korte family from Lemont, Illinois for being so thoughtful and bringing him a box of Trader Joe's dog treats when they come to visit earlier this month. What we would give for a TJs in Montreal. Duke thought they were mighty tasty. Merci!

A special family visit

Paul with Adam, Art, Cindi and Placido Swanson

We were thrilled when the Swanson family from Naperville made a stop in Montreal on their road trip around most of the Great Lakes and through Canada. It was very unfortunate that I (Kish) had to make a last-minute trip out of town and didn't get the chance to break bread with this amazing family. Thankfully, Danielle is quite good in the kitchen and Paul's favorite Italian market was open on Labour Day (most big stores were closed) and they put together a nice lunch. They even cleaned the house which I kept saying was not necessary. That's because, well, the guys don't care and my friend Cindi...is blind. She wouldn't know or care if there was enough dog hair in the corners to stuff a pillow. Plus, her assistance dog Placido was coming too and we could always blame yellow dog hair on him. Just so long as the bathrooms were clean. And they were, I'm told. 

I met Cindi at our church in Naperville. She was, and is, the special needs coordinator at our previous parish. She was doing this job long before one jerk (hint--Beck) started mouthing off suggesting we run from our churches if we hear the words Social Justice. She's also a social worker, mom or three -- her middle son with Down Syndrome -- and as mentioned earlier, she is blind. She does not let her disability stand in her way and she represents all that is good about Social Justice and the whole concept of WWJD? She and Art paved the way in Naperville and Illinois for the Pisani family...and hundreds of others but advocating in church, school and the community.

Cindi met with me many times to find the right words to use in IEP meetings to help get Louis the services he was entitled to -- because everyone is entitled to a fair and appropriate education...including those with disabilities. She's also the most passionate advocate I know. I remember driving her home from one meeting (remember, she can't drive) and we were talking about how the Catholic church in general needs to get even more involved in helping those with special needs, and in particular those with intellectual disabilities. She used the words Social Justice before we heard it from that guy, believing that providing services for those with disabilities is the epitome of Social Justice in any community. Out of her mouth came these words..."if a Parish can help support {BEEP} goats in Guatemala, they can help support people with needs in their own community." Disclaimer...she was not referring to our Parish...but 'The Church' in general.

The Swanson's are HUGE hockey fans too. We had fun exchanging news throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. Art knows more about the Canadiens than the Canadians. Seriously. This family has also been a big part of a special program in Chicago called the Tomahawks. They helped start a garden/nursery that employs people with disabilities called We Grow Dreams. They even moved to downtown Naperville to ensure that their son Adam can walk to work and to make sure that people in the community know Adam and look out for him. Remember, Cindi can't drive, so making sure everything is walk-able is a necessity, not a luxury. There are some days when I want to have a solitary pitty party and I think about what if I too had a disability. I never admitted this to Cindi because frankly, she refuses to let anyone feel sorry for her.

Cindi and Art made sure kids like Louis could attend religious ed classes with their peers, participate in sports, be in the same class with their peers, get jobs in the community and more. We've learned a lot about our future from this family. More than anything though, we've learned about the present. 

Une visite de la famille de Flynn

We were so happy to have the Flynn family (Leo, Mary, Leo B., Emily, Meghan and Maria)  from Elmhurst, Illinois at our home for a visit! It was such a treat and they are very easy house guests. As in....we walk in the door from an eight day vacation (actually nine including flight delays) only to have them arrive just a few short hours later with all of our laundry in the foyer and Kish greeting them with "Come on in! Sorry I have not showered in two days and I still can't find my toothbrush, but welcome!" We did, however, have Molson in the fridge.

Actually, due to some scheduling mix-ups, the Flynn family stayed at our house for a couple of days while we were in Colorado, then they ventured up to Quebec City to take in the really, really French culture. They stopped back by our house on the way home.

Paul missed out on our visit to Olympic Park since his flight was ALSO delayed by a day. We always enjoy showing people the city we have grown to love.

Paul has another name for this structure in the background, but it is part of Olympic Park commemorating the 1976 games.

After the visit to the park, Leo, Mary and Kish dropped the kids off in Westmount and Danielle took them around to get a taste of the city from the teen perspective. They went to lunch and had Poutine...a well-known, not low-calorie, dish from this area. It's french fries, gravy and cheese.

Emily Flynn is not eating a worm, it's Poutine

The kids walked around, did some shopping and took the train home. During this time, Leo, Mary and Kish caught up with Paul and the adults went out for an early dinner at our very favorite French restaurant in the village of Pointe-Claire. It was so much fun to catch up with them and feel at ease with our kids riding the train home from Montreal. After some debate about whether to pick them up at the train station or not, we opted for a second bottle of wine and they walked home. Hey, they're young. When we were their age...never mind. It was really good wine though.

While the visit together was short, it was sweet. They had to leave the next morning for the long journey home to Chicago. We were sad to see them leave. We've known Leo since we were 17-18 and the kids have all grown up together.  Good times.

Any doubt these two are Marquette fans?

Duke LOVED the Flynn's and jumped in the van to go back home with them

Great to see you all! Sorry for taking your photo right after you got out of bed and loaded the car for the long ride home. 

Until next time...bon voyage Flynn family!